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Community Corner

Pro-Police Rally Vs. Mayor's Press Conference

Rally protesters and Mayor Capone disagree whether she has supported the East Haven Police Department.

A group of people who said they just wanted to show support for the East Haven police held a rally at Town Hall this evening that chastised Mayor April Capone for allegedly not showing enough support for the department.

Anticipating the rally’s message, Capone held a news conference at the police department earlier in the afternoon to publicize the many improvements she has made for the police.

Both staged events were heavily covered by local newspapers and television stations, presenting two contradictory versions of reality for news audiences to choose from.

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Although Capone portrayed the rally in front of Town Hall as something created by Local 1662, the East Haven police union, the only evidence of that was the fact that some participants wore Local 1662 T-shirts.

Several of the participants who were asked said they were from out of town and not related to any current East Haven police officers, though one said her husband is a retired East Haven cop.

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But the rally was as anti-Capone as it was pro-police, and two Republican Town Council members, Paul Carbo and Richard Anania, were among the protesters. The councilmen denied their presence was political, even though this is an election year.

Tension has increased over the years since the U.S. Department of Justice started an investigation in 2009 of allegations of racial profiling by the East Haven police targeting Hispanics.

"The fact is, my administration does support the police department," said Capone at her press conference.

She said the rally was inspired by Local 1662 because she refused their demand that she denounce the Justice Department investigation, which the union feels unfairly tarnishes their reputations.

But Capone said she couldn’t do that without knowing more about the investigation, and the Justice Department has not shared that information with her. "It would be irresponsible for me to do that right now," she said.

Pamela Smith of North Branford, said she promoted the rally on her Facebook page, but the page has since been discontinued. Earlier news reports said that Pamela Savati put up the Facebook page.

"The people here feel Mayor Capone isn’t doing her part to support the East Haven Police Department," she said, citing the elimination of the DARE program, the K-9 unit and beach patrols.

Smith accused the mayor of turning against the police after she was arrested in 2009 for interfering with an officer when she tried to stop a police officer from issuing a ticket to someone at the town beach.

"I’m here to support the East Haven Police Department," said Candice Mott, another rally participant. "They put their lives on the line every day and this is the least we can do."

Many of the participants brought children as young as two to wave signs, and lots of motorists honked as they passed by the crowd.

Signs said "Props to the Cops," "Support the E.H.P.D.," "I Love The Cops," and urged restoration of K-9 patrols and DARE, the police anti-drug education program for fifth graders.

As for the charge that Capone has neglected the police department, she released a list of improvements that she made since coming into office after the 2007 election.

Those items included new bulletproof vests, new department-issued pistols, new police cars, laptop computers for the police cars, new portable radios, and remodeling improvements for the Police Department headquarters building.

Capone said these improvements help East Haven police officers do their jobs more effectively and safely, and said it proves her administration supports the department.

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